The most well-known global payment gateway is PayPal (www.paypal.com). Even though PayPal was developed by a South African, PayPal does not currently offer merchant services to South African based companies. If, however, you have a bank account in the US or UK, for example, PayPal might be a good option for accepting credit cards over the Internet.

Thankfully though, our clever-headed and tech-savvy South African developers have created more payment gateway options.

There are two types of Payment Gateway providers in South Africa those which require a client to register as an internet merchant with a South African Bank, and those that do not. In this article, we outline those that require clients to register as an internet merchant with a South African Bank.

Virtual Card Services (www.vcs.co.za) was established in 1996 and works with ABSA, Nedbank, Standard Bank and First National Bank and has more than 50 years’ collective experience in developing and implementing credit, debit and smartcard processing systems for all of the major card issuers in South Africa. In order for an online retailer to register with VCS, the retailer must register with their bank as a Credit Card Merchant. Once registered, the retailer will receive a Merchant Number and, using this, can register for VCS services.

In terms of VCS fees, VCS does not charge to setup a retailer but does require a monthly minimum of R145 in transactions (excluding VAT). Volume Discounts can be negotiated with VCS, based on the retailer’s transaction processing history. No administration charges are levied for new Internet Merchant applications made through First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank. In terms of Bank administration fees, VCS charges R120 per month as an administration fee for ABSA accounts; whilst all administration fees for other banks are waived. Commission on all transactions through an ABSA account carry a negotiable levy whilst a commission fee of between 5 and 7% applies when transacting with a First National Bank; Nedbank or Standard Bank account.

VCS provides its clients with full interfacing instructions, to enable the client’s web design and development team to integrate the VCS payment gateway into an e-Commerce website. Merchant web sites must pass parameters (i.e. reference number, description and amount to VOnline via the Pay buttons). Sample code will be provided on approval of a VCS application.

Setcom (www.setcom.co.za) is another payment service where bank registration is required for
credit card acceptance.  This service is aimed at companies with a minimum of 6 month trading history and banking relationship. The credit card acquiring is done directly with either ABSA, FNB or Standard Bank.  Setcom provides the technology to link the website to the banks. In addition to credit card processing, Setcom provides the only instant EFT service in South Africa, called SID Payment.

SID Payment (www.sidpayment.com) is an assisted EFT (electronic funds transfer) which allows the customer to make payment directly to a merchant using their existing Internet banking facility.

If a customer have never used SID before, they will be asked to run the application. The customer will then be directed to their chosen bank site where they can login to make payment. The merchant’s banking details will be pre-populated on the payments page. Once the customer completes the payment and receives the receipt, their order will be fulfilled straight away without having to fax the confirmation to the merchant.

Paygate (www.paygate.co.za) is very well known as it’s used by companies who have a merchant account with the banks. Paygate has been around since 1996 and is therefore being used extensively on websites around the country. Credit cards accepted include Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club. PayGate provides a number of different solutions to merchants and all are easy to use and extremely cost effective for online merchants and retailers.

Paygate requires online retailers to register as a merchant at their bank and will supply you with a quote on costings to you for joining, once you enquire here: https://www.paygate.co.za/pricing.php. The small, three-month package with Paygate costs just R200 to setup, with a minimum monthly fee of R100. Paygate then also charges a R1,00 plus 0,5% of transaction fee, per transaction.

Paygate focuses its services entirely on being a specialist payment services provider and leaves the web design and development to the experts. Paygate provides code samples, payment modules, logos and documentation for download on its website to enable clients development teams to easily integrate the Paygate system into their e-Commerce website.

IVeri (www.iveri.co.za) is offered by Nedbank. The iVeri Payment Gateway is a comprehensive solution that meets all the essential requirements of a true multi-channel card payments system and enables online retailers a range of services from remote payment devices to full-scale monitoring of all transactions in real-time by its client websites. IVeri charges R300 per month with an additional 5% levy on all transactions. IVeri requires you to register a current account with any South African bank before registering for IVeri.

Nedbank’s IVeri is a simple way to add payment facilities to your website. The IVeri Lite service requires very little integration and is aimed at Internet merchants who have limited technical resources. On checkout, the card holder is redirected to a secure payment page that is hosted by IVeri. This simplifies the integration and reduces integration time. The Iveri Enterprise service is ideal for medium to large e-Commerce websites. The Enterprise service leaves database storage, formatting and development entirely at the discretion of the clients’ web design and development team. IVeri’s systems provide advanced security and transaction monitoring, in real-time.

MyGate (www.mygate.co.za) currently works with First National Bank and offers both a payment gateway service and debit order facility for subscription services. MyGate also offers its clients a unique iTrace service, which enables retailers to verify Identity Numbers, enquire about credit ratings and trace consumers.

To register to use the MyGate payment gateway, online retailers will need to obtain a merchant bank account with a South African bank, but is primarily focused currently on First National Bank and Nedbank customers. MyGate is currently negotiating with other banks to streamline client applications and related processes.

A MyGate account costs R200 to setup, with no subscription fee, and costs only R1,50 per transaction. The MyGate 300 account costs R300 a month, with a R1, 50 transaction fee and the MyGate 600 account costs R600 a month, with a R1, 40 transaction fee on every transaction.

MyGate prides itself on being the most cost effective and innovative payment gateway in South Africa, and focuses on guiding its clients through each step of setting up their e-Commerce websites, registering as a merchant and linking to the MyGate gateway. MyGate walks its clients through a simple process, which allows easy integration. The MyGate Application Programming Interface (API) is free and can integrate into any merchant solution. MyGate offers all its clients with free online reporting and analytics systems.

Pricetag (www.pricetag.co.za) aims to provide online retailers with a simple, quick and affordable e-commerce payment portal, and focuses on the small to medium enterprises in South Africa.

Once registered with Pricetag and registered as a merchant with your bank, retailers will be assigned a merchant number, and receive the setup documentation. During test mode, retailers are under no obligation the test mode simulates the payment interface, and only once a client is satisfied, will the account go live, where fees come into effect. Pricetag charges a R570 setup fee, R200 monthly subscription fee and a 5.7% per transaction fee.

Pricetag also focuses on payment solutions and provides you with an easy plug-in route to having payment facilities available on your website.

Pricetag provides a number of pre-built modules for a number of e-Commerce engines/shopping carts. These include: OSCommerce; CyberMall, VirtueMart and Actinic. Pricetag enables you to simply and quickly add their facilities to your website – they leave the web design and development to the experts.

AlertPay (www.alertpay.com) enables online retailers to manage multiple online businesses with just one AlertPay account and is the only third party payment processor enabled for use in South Africa. Touting itself as the easiest way to sell online, AlertPay offers three options a free Personal Starter Account, designed for the beginner retailer or online shopper, whilst the Personal Pro Account is geared towards the more established and regular retailer or online shopper, and offers low receiving fees and access to AlertPay’s Business Tools. AlertPay’s Business Account, however, focuses entirely on the online business owner and is fully tailored to meet the needs of their business and clientele.

AlertPay’s fee structure differs per Account Type. Whilst all types of accounts are free to open, the Personal Starter Account transaction fees are nil for sending and receiving money. Charges are, however, not levied for deposits on all types of accounts, but a $20USD charge is levied to Bank Wire money. On the Personal Pro and Business Accounts, it costs $0.25USD plus a 5% commission on each transaction, to receive funds by Credit Card. To receive straight funds, it costs $0.25USD plus a 2.5% commission on each transaction. Withdrawing your funds will cost between $0.5USD and $15USD, depending on your withdrawal type.

AlertPay focuses on simple integration of payment gateway services simple into your website. The standard integration method is ideal for those with no previous programming knowledge. AlertPay stores product/service details to enable easy updates of a description, pricing or other information. The advanced integration method is designed for businesses who manage their own data.

AlertPay also offers its clients with a range of business tools including Buy Now and Subscribe Now buttons. Instant Payment notifications; Mass Payments and the ability to add a number of Business Sub-Accounts, in order to manage multiple businesses, form part of AlertPay’s Value-added services. AlertPay’s Development Community forum provides sample code, scripts documentation and a range of downloads useful to enable the use of AlertPay’s systems on clients’ websites. A Merchant Integration Guide is also available for download.

Payfast (www.payfast.co.za) does not charge monthly fees only per-transaction fees. Offering four types of accounts, Payfast is geared entirely towards payment processing for South Africa only. Payfast may require a client to register as a merchant with a South African bank, but this depends on the account type selected.

Payfast’s Basic Account is intended only for users who only send money, whilst the Personal Account is geared towards regular users who need to pay online stores, and receive small amounts of money for online goods or services.  A Premier Account is intended for use by online retailers who need to accept money from customers and who are able to accept credit card payments. The Business Account focuses on larger businesses, who send and receive larger amounts of money on a regular basis.  The Basic Account does not require you to have a South African Bank Account but, the Personal, Premier and Business accounts do.

PayFast does not charge setup or monthly fees, or charge users a fee to send money. To receive funds, however, Payfast charges a minimum of 2% on an Instant EFT and PayFast Voucher transaction. For a credit card transaction, Payfast charges 4.9% of the transaction plus an extra R2, and 7% of the transaction amount on a Ukash transaction. Payouts cost R8,77 and all selling tools offered by Payfast are free to use. Note, though, Payfast only accept payments from South African clients.

PayFast provides a number of pre-built modules for a number of e-Commerce engines/shopping carts. These include: OSCommerce; VirtueMart, ZenCar and CubeCart. PayFast enables you to simply and quickly add their facilities to your website, and provides a full, easy to read integration guide on their website. PayFast has also enabled UKash (www.ukash.com) on their systems. UKash enables a client to buy things online without needing a credit card or even a bank account.

A myriad of options is available for those wanting to enable their e-commerce website, and clients are offered a wide variety of options and account types.

Related: South Africa Payment Gateways that don’t require bank registration.